Tag Archives: Avalon Inn on Cuttyhunk Island

September brings me to my annual artists retreat on Cuttyhunk Island, MA. I left from New Bedford, MA on the Cuttyhunk Ferry which also brings all supplies to the islanders. The harbor is home to a host of fishing boats.

I was so ready to leave the day to day life behind and begin my artistic journey. Sometimes there is nothing more enjoyable than the company of women, and when you have 16 women artists together, the conversation, sharing, painting and partying is the best!

Cuttyhunk is one of the Elizabeth Islands off the coast of Massachusetts. With 82 annual residents, no cars, no TV and poor cell service, this is the perfect place to unplug and get in the zone. I often make this pilgrimage with artist Kelley MacDonald who taught a plein air course this year.

We arrived to our hosts Teri Bordenave and Ellie von Wellsheim filling us in on the weeks agenda. Teri and Ellie are the caretakers of the Avalon Inn and artists in their own right. Ellie was recently named Schenectady Business and Professional Women’s Club Woman of the Year. She has worked tirelessly on many humanitarian projects and one is the MoonCatcher Project which provides reusable menstrual pads for girls in developing countries so that they can continue their schooling.

They are fantastic cooks and fed us amazing meals leaving us free to paint, swim or walk this beautiful island. The kitchen of the Avalon Inn is incredibly charming.

This year I was in an adjoining house aptly named “Household”.

This sweet alcove was off Kelley’s room.

Views from the porch were gorgeous. We were directly above the Cuttyhunk Fishing Club. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Grover Cleveland and William Taft stayed there as well as the railroad baron Jay Gould. The fishing club was once a home away from home to many wealthy businessmen. One can now rent a room and get a breakfast here.

Nashawena Island is in the background of this painting. It is home to a herd of more than 200 Scottish highland cows and 2 caretakers living on the island. Our hosts gathered clams for our first evenings meal off the shore of Nashawena.

We also had the pleasure of painting off the porch of Sara Lehner’s house. She was one of the artists at the retreat who is also a seasonal islander.

I was delighted to be painting the many angles of this house overlooking the harbor and far off New Bedford.

I did enjoy getting to the beach which had been re-shaped with increased sand that had been pushed up by Hurricane Hermine shortly before we arrived.

Church’s Beach and Copicut Neck

I had some delightful swims here with fellow artist Andrea Salvaggio. I also painted a few views of David Thurston’s house on Copicut Neck. I met David at our open house the last night of the retreat. He had some remarkable stories to tell about his family and their time on the island. This is a much painted image by artists visiting Cuttyhunk.

Getting a tour from Kathryn, the director of the Cuttyhunk Historical Society.

Part of a painting!

Loved making some small paintings.

Cuttyhunk Chapel as I struggle with the process of trying to complete it.

Going Home.

And Back to life at home.

Well I was told I would fall in love with Cuttyhunk and I did. The co-organizers of the Artist’s retreat, Teri and Ellie pampered us in ways that left us free to spend our days following our own artistic path. The joy, the laughter, the beauty. Thank you to each of the woman who brought their gift of themselves to the island to share with one another.

Me

Wild Life for Susan Medyn, a poem by David Formanek

Wild life erupts
from the crevices
cracking open the planes
between the daily
and the unexpectable.
Its rules are simple:
Eat, rest, and the other thing.
Wild life paints its offspring
with revealing masks to attract
congenial company, and repel
the hungry, and stun
its food before it eats.
Where do you fit in,
in our concrete hives,
our wooden termite colonies,
our iron leaves that raft us across the waters?

Medynology by David Formanek, a poem about my artwork.

Everyone is many people
and some of us are brightly tinted critters
who converse, unmindful
of their flower-freak exteriors,
happy for the company of their compeers.
Look this way and look that.
Face the faces that favor you.
It doesn’t really matter what you say,
only that you’re hearing the other.
The cat cries for happiness and desire.
The birds call because they’re born to sing.
At the same time, talk is cheap—and priceless.
Are my friends tangerine, magenta, cerulean, chartreuse?
Are yours chimeras, sphinxes, nymphs, and sprites?
In a scale-less Eden,
blossoms quiver looming over glooming trees.
Anything can talk to anyone,
then turn around to talk the other way.